How Cool!!

How cool would this be!!!
I bet Steve Jobs would be really proud if this is the future of the iphone!

http://mashable.com/2012/07/06/iphone-5-spider/#74291Spider-iPhone-Right-Angle

WOMEN WHO WANT TO GET AHEAD - DRESS WELL AND PLAY GOLF!

The old adage "dress for success" still holds true. "Men of a certain caliber have bespoke suits. Women tend not to be as conscious that dress is part of their professional brand," says Rand Kaspi of LawScope Coaching. You don't need a bespoke suit, but you do need to avoid walking around in flats and khakis with a sweater set.
Once you dress the part, act the part with both clients and superiors. Whether that means studying up on squash because a client is a devotee or brushing up on vintage wines because a vice president once expressed his penchant for them, you'll need to delve into hobbies you may not have considered.

If all this talk of hobbies is making you think of the one sport through which deals are made, you are correct: You need to learn how to play golf. You don't have to be good, but you have to be competent enough to be invited for quality bonding time.

Pippa Woods, former manager of strategic planning at New Jersey Transit, used her ability to play to get closer to her bosses when she was starting out in her career. As a research officer for a transit agency in Vancouver, Canada, Woods, now 56, frequently took to the golf course with the three senior men at the company.

"My boss was a big golfer so we played a lot," she said. "My mother gave me golf lessons when I was 16. I thought it was the worst 16th birthday present ever. But it was one of the best things she ever did. I didn't play that well, but it was an opportunity to be on a level playing field."

That bonding over golf gave her the confidence to ask for time off to enroll in masters degree courses in public administration. Her golf buddy bosses not only encouraged her, they didn't dock her vacation pay to take them.

"I felt more equal on the golf course than in the workplace," she says. "They could see me as a 360-degree person."

Concrete Business Cards!!

Concrete business cards by Murmure

Check out these concrete business cards by Murmure, you won’t forget receiving one of these! Not sure I'd be happy about the bits of concrete sand in my wallet though??

Thought after todays news about the double recession we could all do with a laugh.....The silliest movie complaints sent to the BBFC

Here's some of the most ridiculous complaints ever penned by outraged cinemagoers

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) deals with all official complaints made about movie certificate ratings. Their job is to classify all films released in the UK, inform fans of the reasons and assist cinemagoers in their future movie decision making.

Sometimes they receive legitimate complaints from viewers upset by violence or sex, especially in flicks with the 12A certificate.
However, they also get sent ridiculous complaints by idiots. Here are just a few examples....


“I don’t like Daniel Craig”
After the release of the gritty James Bond reboot ‘Casino Royale’, one punter wrote in to the BBFC to complain that he did not like Daniel Craig as the new 007 and demanded the return of Sean Connery. This same person also claimed that the “two females were the worst, most unattractive side-kicks” they had ever seen in a James Bond film. Such a charmer…
Double Oh no... Daniel Craig (Copyright: REX)

“Kids went to the toilet too often”
Several elderly film fans watching ‘Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest’ complained about young children being too noisy, crying and even going to the toilet too often. As annoying as it may be, we’re not so sure the BBFC was the right place to address their complaints.

“My friend fainted”
While watching horror flick ‘Eden Lake’, one begrudged viewer was outraged that the movie was so scary it made his female companion faint during the screening.

“Judi Dench should never swear”
Film fans were shocked and appalled that Dame Judi Dench would ever swear on camera. Things came to a head when she played ‘M’ in the new James Bond films but according to the BBFC “almost every time Dame Judi swears in a film, regardless of its category, we can expect a number of complaints”. Preposterous.
Complete disaster... Disaster Movie (Copyright: REX)

“It was a bad movie”
Disappointed customers returning home from ‘Disaster Movie’ wrote to the BBFC to say that they should have been warned that the film was so bad. This is a common complaint apparently.

“Her X Factor performance was too sexy”
Four ‘X Factor’ viewers were so appalled at Christina Aguilera’s raunchy routine on the show that they felt the need to complain to the BBFC about her role in the film ‘Burlesque’. They claimed that Aguilera was not setting a good example for kids and shouldn’t be cast in a 12A. Unfortunately, none of them had seen the film, which kind of scuppered their argument
Too raunchy?... Christina Aguilera in 'Burlesque' (Copyright: Sony)

“I’m going to kill you”
The BBFC had to take legal action against some complainants after death threats were sent to staff members who banned Japanese horror ‘Grotesque’. Even after such serious events, the BBFC's statement was characteristically sardonic. " We take a very dim view of such correspondence”, they said.

“A shadow looked like a vagina”
Two audience members thought they saw a little more than they bargained for during a screening of James Bond flick ‘Quantum of Solace’. They claimed to see a fleeting glimpse of a lady’s genitalia, but in actual fact it was just an unfortunately shaped shadow on a thigh.
Have you ever complained about a movie?

As Earth Day is just around the corner...

Cree and The Noun Project have introduced new graphic symbols to represent various energy-efficient technologies, including LED lighting, biofuels and solar farms, designed during the recent Iconathon at the Cree campus in Durham.

The day-long collaborative workshop, led by The Noun Project co-founder Edward Boatman, included nearly 40 attendees who sketched new symbols for LED lighting and a variety of energy-efficient technologies.

All of the designs were discussed and critiqued to ensure the best iconic representation for each of the 15 energy-efficient technologies and concepts.

"By collaborating with The Noun Project, we now have a universal symbol that represents LED lighting, filling a significant void in the energy-efficient lighting landscape," said Ginny Skalski, social media specialist, Cree.

"As Cree continues leading the way for LED lighting adoption, this new icon will allow the public and the media to stop using antiquated Edison or swirly CFL bulb designs to symbolize lighting."

The symbols are now available for public download.

more: http://www.dexigner.com/news/25012#ixzz1ssJeb6nR

9 Principles For Great Branding By Design

BY Expert Blogger Mark McNeilly

We all know great design has a critical role to play in building a great brand. But how do we go about making that happen? The link between design and branding is important, and that having a top design team is crucial to having a winning brand.

1. Branding and design are, to a large extent, inseparable. "A brand is not your logo or ID system. It's a gut feeling people have about you. When two or more people have the same feeling, you have a brand. You get that feeling via smart design, which creates the experiences people have with the brand. Everything you do creates the brand experience, ergo design IS your brand."
2. If design is the brand, stop thinking of branding and design as distinct disciplines. "It's all about integrating design and brand. We need to cease thinking of them as different disciplines. The essence of the Apple brand comes through its design. Take the logo off a BMW and you still know it's a BMW."
3. Brands need to create an emotional relationship with people. "We are all emotional beings and we have emotional relationships with brands we trust. Designers need to make that happen. A designer must take the values and assets of a company and transform them in a special way that connects with people emotionally."
4. Designers need to "get" the essence of the brand. "For designers to build a great brand, they have to understand it. You need to understand its history, its values, and what it means to people. Can you imagine designing the latent Jeep without understanding the brand archetype of what it means for a product to be a Jeep?"
5. Design needs to be strategic from the outset. "For design to have a major impact, it's got to get involved at the strategic level. It can't be an afterthought or superficial trappings to be put on post product creation. Samsung's brand became powerful only after they put a Chief Design Officer in place and made it a priority for the company."
6. Integrate design early in the process to drive innovation and create solutions. "Good designers approach design as an opportunity to ask questions. Solution generation starts by questioning initial assumptions. Rather than ask myself 'How should I design Widget X?' I need to be asking 'Do we really need Widget X or is there a better solution to this customer problem? So a designer needs be there at the beginning and be connected to the decision-makers."
7. Don't overdesign. "With the increasing emphasis on design in the world today, it's important to avoid the 'over-designed syndrome. A simple, well-thought-through, authentic design is often the best. Everything doesn't need to be redesigned; sometimes what we have in hand is better than what we seek. It's not all about being different; it's about being better. If Levi Strauss wanted me to redesign the patch on the back of their jeans, I would look in their archives for the original."
8. Use design to continually reinvent the brand. "Some folks think they know branding. 'Hi. I'm someone you'll like. You'll know it's me because I always wear a red polo shirt (pantone 185 to be exact) with blue pants and a yellow belt.' You can't think that way today. Brands need to allow themselves to constantly update, and be much more fluid. Look at Google; they morph their logo for special occasions. Constant change is a big part of who they are."
9. Use design to make a difference. "Design can make a difference in how we live. Take sustainability. A lot of what is done in that area is 'making bad, better.' We're taking wasteful things and seeing how we can make them not so bad. We need to start thinking about how we can use our design tools to encourage people to change. You do that by making 'doing better' also be fun, interesting and (importantly) the path of least resistance. And you do it in an encouraging, not controlling, way. Design needs to do that in order to reach a larger audience than just the small group that is socially driven.

While these steps may require a new way of thinking about design for some, they're key steps to the path for those who want to build a great brand and make life better for those who experience them.

3 Marketing Trends Your Business Should Consider      

Here are the top practices of successful companies in 2012      

1. Authenticity: Consumers relate best to brands they trust. This trend has caused many companies to open up and share their values. More and more, brands are gaining traction by embracing qualities like honesty, kindness and simply having a sense of humor about their company.
2. Use of Traditional Marketing: Like bell-bottoms and neon colors, some trends come…go…and return. The past few years has seen a resurgence of “old school” marketing strategies like direct mail. What is old is new again when it comes to marketing communications.
3. Social Media Growth Through Mobile: More and more people are accessing social media sites via their smartphones and other mobile devices. Currently, 40% of Twitter users access the site through mobile devices. Smart marketers accommodate for the nuances associated with communicating via mobile devices.